C o p y
by Midnight Thorn
Summary: "I want to be just like you..." Little did Whitepool know, when her apprentice, Bluepaw, said that, she meant it. And Bluepaw will do anything to be Whitepool. Anything. (THE UPDATED CHAPTER IS AN AUTHORS NOTE, BUT A MUST READ!)
1. P r o l o g u e

**Title: **C o p y

**Author: **Midnight Thorn

**Rated: **T

**Setting: **AU

**Summary: **"I want to be just like you..." Little did Whitepool know, when her apprentice, Bluepaw, said that, she meant it. And Bluepaw will do _anything _to be like Whitepool. Anything.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Warriors.

**Authors Note: **Wanted to write a warriors horror story. Meh~

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_T h e _last snowflake. It fell, hitting the frosty earth with one single, soft thud. She watched it, her eyes glowing as it begun melting into the damped earth. _Leaf-bare is officially over, _she thought, sighing with some sort of content and relief. _And not a moment too soon. _

Her paws tingled with the need to move, so she complied, walking toward the entrance of BrambleClan camp. The bramble bushes - BrambleClan's namesake - easily snapped beneath her light treading, the snow and frost making their roots brittle.

Her eyes brightened with a charismatic flicker as the two guard cats chatted, expressions happy.

"Has Spottedflower kitted?" she asked, her spine fur tingling at the thought of the birth of her nephews or nieces, or even both!

"Of course, Whitepool," Thornwhisker, one of the guards, replied dryly, his tail tip twitching.

Whitepool purred, her day becoming even brighter than usual. _I can't wait to see them! They could be tortoiseshell and white like Spottedflower…or blue-gray like Rainstrike. Or possibly have white patches like me! _She puffed out her chest in pride, padding through the thorn barrier.

Though they were scattered around, Whitepool could tell that most of the clan was excited about Spottedflower's kits. Whitepool even spotted her mother a few tail-lengths away, disappearing into the nursery.

_StarClan has blessed our clan with these lives, _she thought as she begun to descend into the familiar pathway toward the nursery. _I pray that they'll be great warriors - or medicine cat. _Whitepool passed some other clan cats who padded away from the nursery, talking about the adorable bundles of fur that were inside.

"May I come in?" she asked as she reached the fox den, poking her head inside. Though she was partially blocking the way of light, she could still make out her sisters dappled and white fur and glowing yellow eyes.

Spottedflower rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "No, Whitepool, you can't see your niece and nephew. Of course, silly!" Whitepool just chuckled to herself, slipping inside.

The nursery was mostly cramped, with Spottedflower, their mother, Rainstrike, and the kits. Whitepool was itching to shake out the dirt from her pelt, but for the space and the kits sake, she ignored her pet peeve for once.

As she looked down at them, a smile grew on her lips. One of the kits was a wonderful black and white combination, while the other had their fathers blue-gray coat, but had little white toes.

"They're beautiful, Spottedflower," she murmured, touching the blue-gray kittens ear with her nose. The kit shivered, it's ear tip flicking. Whitepool opened her mouth to say something, but the kitten stilled, returning to normal. Whitepool just shrugged, regaining her composer.

"Yes, they are," Their mother, Dovefrost, purred, giving her daughters ear a proud lick. Whitepool blinked at her sister and mother warmly, before looking back at the small kits.

"What're you going to name them?" she asked, purring as the black and white kit mewed.

Spottedflower looked at Rainstrike for a moment, before looking at her two kits. "Well, for the black and white tom kit, I was going to name him Ravenkit, and the blue-gray she-kit, I was going to name her Bluekit," she mewed, shrugging. "They seem to fit them."

Whitepool purred, then smiled. "You're right, they do," _Ravenkit and Bluekit…little warriors already! _Whitepool smirked at the two kittens, nodding.

"I'll let you rest now, Spottedflower. You're probably exhausted, right?" she meowed, turning and climbing out of the nursery. She stretched upon getting out of the den, before finally shaking out the dirt from her pelt, that itch finally degrading. _Ooh, thank StarClan that that itch's gone! _

Whitepool begun walking away from the nursery, licking her lips in hunger as she saw the fresh kill pile. While walking, Whitepool suddenly halted as she heard something from behind her, a tail length away.

_Snap! _

A twig.

Whitepool looked over her shoulder, but froze once she saw Bluekit behind her. Whitepool blinked rapidly, but froze once again.

Bluekit was gone.

The warrior shook her head. _I'm just seeing things…yes, of course. Kits can't walk at not even a day old. _Whitepool smiled, shaking her head as she walked forward. _Silly me. Bluekit can't walk. _

Whitepool lifted her head, just in time as something fell on her muzzle. Her yellow eyes widened. A snowflake. Whitepool pawed at the snow, causing it to crumble beneath her soft blows. She shook out her fur, and bounded forward toward the fresh kill pile.

_Bluekit walking…ha! I'm just seeing things. _


	2. C h a p t e r 1

**Authors Note: Well, sorry for the delay, folks! I know it's not extremely long, but I hope my reviewers will be pleased! And, oh, thank you eight reviewers! That's an amazing amount and I thank you all!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

"_L e t _all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Branchpile for a clan meeting!"

She awoke with a jolt; her peaceful and content dream had been disturbed by Mousestar's squeaky voice. She groaned at first, but then brightened. She was to become a mentor today.

Twisting her head around, she observed her short white coat, and slightly frowned upon seeing the flecks of moss and dirt, clinging their dirty claws into the pieces of hair. Licking her fur with her rough tongue, she - along with a few other warriors - got up and begun to head out of the warriors den.

The she-cat could hardly contain her excitement. Her - a newer warrior - was about to get an apprentice! Some warriors that were moons and moons older than her hadn't even received one apprentice yet.

Her golden eyes traced the straight postures of her Clanmates, and she slightly smiled once again. It seemed that her Clanmates had decided to present themselves kindly for this clan meeting.

Now assured, the she-cat held her head high and tail kinked over her back.

Mousestar was sitting atop the Branchpile, her small ears swerving to catch the sounds of the cats conversations as they all awaited for her to continue the clan meeting. After a few measly minutes, Mousestar smiled at her clan warmly; warmth that glowed from the sunlight and onto the gathered cats of BrambleClan.

"Cats of BrambleClan," the small she-cat begun, trying and partially succeeding to keep her voice from squeaking, "We are gathered here today to name two kits into apprentices. Ravenkit, Bluekit, please come forward to the Branchpile to receive your mentors and new names."

She turned her head, smiling greatly as her niece and nephew scrambled from their mothers grasp and ran through the crowd toward the thick pile of fallen branches. _They're just like Spottedflower and I when we were kits, _she thought fondly as the two kittens scampered toward the foot of the pile. _Excited, eager, and ready to become an apprentice. I can't believe Mousestar is allowing me to mentor one of them! Usually that's not allowed, but she must believe in me._

She raised her muzzle, trying to get a better view of the two, small kittens as they sat on the grass, looking up at Mousestar.

The leader leaped from the Branchpile, smiling at the two kits fondly. "Ravenkit, you have reached the age of six moons and are ready to become an apprentice. Until you receive your warrior name, I name you Ravenpaw. Grayshade," Whitepool slightly frowned; she'd been hoping to get Ravenkit - well, now Ravenpaw - as her apprentice. _Well, that must mean that I'll get Bluekit. _

"Your kindness and peaceful nature are often what most cats need. I hope you can teach young Ravenpaw that not all battles are needed to be fought with claw and tooth," She turned her neck, craning to see the dark gray form of Grayshade. The smaller warrior just smiled thoughtfully at Mousestar, before getting to his paws quietly and padding in front of Ravenpaw.

Whitepool couldn't hold her amusement as she saw the size difference between Ravenpaw and Grayshade - which was not much. Grayshade was one of the smallest full grown cats in the clan.

Ravenpaw looked slightly taken aback; Whitepool wouldn't be surprised if Ravenpaw was thinking a million hateful thoughts toward Mousestar. Though Ravenpaw was a kind cat at heart, he was the type who _really_ wanted to get out and fight, and Whitepool would be surprised if Grayshade took Ravenpaw out for battle training.

Grayshade touched his nose lightly to Ravenpaw, and then both mentor and apprentice made their way back toward the spot that Grayshade had been previously sitting. Whitepool turned her head toward her sister and her mate, seeing that both cats looked at Mousestar with approval. _Of course Spottedflower suggested Grayshade. She's always way too protective of Bluekit and Ravenpaw. And Rainstrike probably went along with it because he didn't want to say something wrong. _

"Today," Whitepool jolted slightly, so engrossed with watching Spottedflower and Rainstrike's gazes that she hardly expected Mousestar to begin speaking again. "we aren't having a normal mentor match-up. The cat that I chose for this is the right cat for Bluekit, but their only fault is that they're her kin. I know that we normally do not chose cats who are kin, but this is my only exception."

Whitepool allowed a smile to stretch across her muzzle. Some cats twitched their ears in thought, as if wondering who'd be Bluekit's mentor, and others wore a scowl on their faces. Obviously they weren't too ready to cheer at this opportunity.

"Bluekit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bluepaw. Whitepool, your deep belief in StarClan and your calm nature can possibly help tame little Bluepaw. This is why I've chosen you - though you're her mothers sister - to become her mentor." Whitepool felt an empowering feeling course through her veins as she got to her paws, walking calmly through the throng of cats.

She gave a slight nod to Mousestar, smiling kindly down at her kin. Bluepaw's eyes were wide, and she reached on her tip toes so she could touch her nose to Whitepool's. Whitepool felt as surge of pride course through her. She finally had an apprentice!

"Train Bluepaw well, Whitepool." Mousestar murmured to her, only so loud that it only carried to Whitepool's ear. She nodded, beaming at the small leader proudly.

Her happiness only heightened once her clanmates begun cheering the name of her apprentice and nephew: "Ravenpaw! Bluepaw! Ravenpaw! Bluepaw!"

Whitepool just sighed a heavy sigh of relief. Though she was Bluepaw's kin, no one seemed to judge that one fact.

She turned to Bluepaw, still smiling. "So, Bluepaw, what do you want to know first?" she asked, but then shook her head. "Oh, great StarClan, I forgot! I'm supposed to take you on a tour of the territory first, then in a weeks time, we'll learn whatever you want to."

Bluepaw just continued to curiously stared at Whitepool, which caused her to feel a prickle of self consciousness. _What, did I do something wrong already? I've only asked her one question… _

"Bluepaw?" she asked, lowering her head to get on Bluepaw's level.

The blue-gray she-cat just blinked thoughtfully, before smiling. "Oh, now I see it!" she purred, her ear tip twitching.

Whitepool twittered her nose. "You see what?"

"How you look like Mother. Ravenkit - I mean 'paw, always said you didn't look like her; he thought your white fur was one of those rare things. But you look like her - your face, I mean."

Whitepool sighed with half relief and half annoyance. _Is that what really concerns her? _"Well, then, I suppose we should meet up with Grayshade to see-" Whitepool looked over to the entrance, only to see Grayshade and Ravenpaw already heading out of camp and into the forest, "-actually, never mind. We'll start at the mountain ridge and go around until we reach the MarshClan border, then we'll go into the heart of the territory, okay?"

Bluepaw beamed at her. "Gosh, Whitepool, you're so organized!" she purred, her eyes brighter than the full moon.

Whitepool just shrugged, "Yeah, well," Seeing that she was probably wasting valuable time talking to her new apprentice, Whitepool flicked her tail toward the entrance. "Let's go."

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><p>Whitepool padded toward the mountain ridge, the looming rocks seeming to grow and grow as they approached them. Bluepaw padded behind her, tossing her head side to side as she listed on many features of the thick forest.<p>

She lifted her head high, having to bend her neck to see all the way to the mountain's snow capped peaks.

"Well, here we are, Bluepaw. You obviously can see this border, unless you're blind-"

Bluepaw crackled with laughter, "Wow, you're so funny, Whitepool!" And no sarcasm dripped from the sentence.

Whitepool looked at her apprentice over her shoulder. _Why is she complimenting me so much? What, am I that interesting? _

"Anyway, as I was saying, if you ever do come out here with any other apprentice, I'll warn you now, jumping among the boulders will only cause severe injury, or a rockslide. And trust me, many cats can either die or get injured. So please keep a safe distance away from the mountain unless you really need to come near it."

Bluepaw nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes, Whitepool, I will, I promise!"

Whitepool narrowed her eyes, but begun to walk again. "Now, follow me, and be careful about the mud. It's slippery and you might slip, fall, and twist a paw. And we can't have that during your first day as an apprentice." she meowed, picking her pathway carefully. Paw prints were imprinted in a jumbled line from previous path walkers. Every so often, Whitepool glanced behind her, seeing Bluepaw picking her paw places with careful observation.

"Whitepool," Bluepaw asked a few heartbeats later. Whitepool simply hummed to tell her she was listening.

"Do you ever…have you…" Whitepool opened her mouth to sharply ask to spit out the question, when Bluepaw finally finished her broken sentence. "Have you ever thought about how you'll die?"

Whitepool paused for a second, her left forepaw raised in a mid step. For a few moments, all was silent, until she sighed. "Sometimes, yes. Why?" she asked, starting back up her even pace.

Even though her back was turned to her, Whitepool sensed that Bluepaw shrugged. "I don't know. It's just something that came to my mind."

Whitepool smiled to herself. _Well, at least she's talkative. I guess this mentorship will work out fine. _

But, of course, Whitepool didn't know how wrong she was.


	3. C h a p t e r 2

**Author's Note: **9 reviews in the last chapter! Thank you all so much! Now, much won't happen in this chapter; it's more of filler chapter and is a 'character devolper'.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

"_G r a y s h a d e," _Whitepool sighed. "I think Bluepaw's trying her best." She was standing at the edge of the dirt clearing, bramble ferns clustered around her, watching Grayshade scold Bluepaw for her 'poor hunters crouch'.

The dark furred warrior just turned his head to glare at Whitepool, the corners of his mouth turning into a frown. "I don't think she is," he growled, and Whitepool was suddenly taken aback; Grayshade wasn't know to be harsh or to growl, only in battle when it was required.

Ravenpaw looked at his mentor and then at Whitepool, his sky-colored eyes displaying a disagreement to Grayshade's statement. "I think Whitepool's right," he spoke up, causing both Whitepool and Grayshade to turn to look at him. "I mean, Bluepaw is trying, so I don't think…," Ravenpaw suddenly trailed off, his facial features showing how increasingly shy he was becoming over this manor. "Erm - never mind."

Whitepool exhaled through her nostrils as Bluepaw bounced up from her position, her tail pluming straight up. The blue-furred apprentice looked at her brother, smiling widely with a sweet and warm expression. "Oh, Ravenpaw, it's okay! You can finish what you wanted to say!" she purred, bending forward to lightly press her nose to Ravenpaw's ear.

Grayshade shook his head, yellow eyes rolling. "Alright, alright, maybe I was a bit harsh…but, Bluepaw, you do need to work on your form," he mewed, giving Whitepool a side glance, as if asking for her input without words.

Whitepool nodded slightly. "Grayshade's right, Bluepaw. I suggest you lift up your tail, though, because I know that habit of yours will cause you to be a poor hunter at best," Bluepaw's face flushed with embarrassment.

Though you couldn't see it at first glance, Bluepaw had a little…habit. Whitepool knew that whatever emotion that Bluepaw happened to feel, her tail swished back and forth, unknowingly.

"Right.." she murmured, smiling though.

Bluepaw's habit wasn't embarrassing; Bluepaw never really did get embarrassed, she was more straight forward cat, but her habit was a touchy subject. She didn't think it made her special; she thought it was a burden, that StarClan had, for some reason, wanted her to become a poor hunter.

"Well, I think that this has been an interesting enough hunting lesson. Unless you have something to add, Whitepool, I believe we should be going," Grayshade meowed kindly, letting out a slight yawn.

_Oh yeah - Hawkshadow asked Grayshade to take the night guarding for him, _she thought, just simply dipping her head to the smaller cat to show that she was willing to leave. _And, of course, he said yes. _

Grayshade just curtly nodded, turning and beginning to disappear into his lush surroundings and heading back to camp. Whitepool turned back to her kin, giving them a short dip of the head,

"Alright, let's head back to camp now," she meowed, waving her tail as a signal for them to follow her.

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><p>"Well…the kits are good, they're attentive to the lessons," Whitepool meowed, nibbling on her small mouse. Spottedflower lay across from her, smiling widely.<p>

"Oh? That's wonderful! Rainstrike will be so happy; his kits are growing up!" she purred loudly, her amber eyes brightly lit against the setting sun.

Whitepool smiled at her sister kindly. "Spottedflower, it's only their fourth day of training you know," she meowed, chuckling softly as her sister just shook her head.

"Well it's never too early to grow up, you know!" she meowed, her paws shuffling on the grass with excitement. Whitepool just tore a small piece from her mouse, chewing it quickly. _Yep. I can definitely see where Bluepaw gets her eagerness from. _

"Whitepool! Whitepool!" _Speaking of the chatter squirrel. _Whitepool looked up, seeing Bluepaw bounding toward her. She bit her lip, holding back laughter, as pieces of moss stuck out all around her fur, some leaving a small trail behind her.

Spottedflower's eyes widened in horror at her daughters messy fur. "Why are you so messy! Moss is all over you!"

As soon as Bluepaw skidded in front of her, Spottedflower curled one of her dappled forepaws around Bluepaw's front leg, dragging her daughter on the grass. The still-queen - Spottedflower had wanted to stay inside of the nursery, for some reason that Whitepool couldn't understand - begun to roughly pick out the moss, dragging some blue-gray fur with it.

"Mother! What's wrong with you, why are you pulling out my fur!" Bluepaw attempted to squirm away from her mother, but Spottedflower just shifted herself so that her chest was now on top of Bluepaw's back.

"What's wrong with me is that I actually want my kits to look nice! What if another apprentice - a tom - asked you to go outside and hunt with him, right now? He'd probably notice your messy fur and go ask another she-cat! Do you want a lonely life, Bluepaw? Do you?"

Whitepool watched the scene with amusement. Spottedflower was so paranoid and obsessed with the future, that she sometimes didn't notice that her scenarios didn't make sense. _I remember when she told me that I'd become blind if I stared at the sun for too long, and then I'd smack into walls all day, and kits and apprentices would point and laugh and I'd be called 'The-stupid-no-eyed-elder-that-no-one-likes', _she remembered fondly, flicking her tail tip as Bluepaw flipped on her flank and flayed her limbs out.

Spottedflower got off of her, turning her muzzle up. "Because I've cleaned your fur, you'll live a longer and happier life."

Bluepaw just rolled her eyes. "I'm not a kit anymore," she mumbled.

"Bluepaw," Whitepool laughed, her eyes slightly widening as she saw Bluepaw snap her head in Whitepool's direction, smiling, and her attitude completely changed. "You just came out of the nursery four days ago. So, technically, you're still a kit."

Bluepaw just smiled, her eyes bright. "Oh right! Yeah, I _did _come out of the nursery four days ago! Wow, you're so smart, Whitepool!" _Another compliment. _

"Er - yeah, I suppose I am," she said, smiling slightly. But it was forced.

Spottedflower's eyes flickered from her daughter to her sister, eyes wide and mouth open in shock.

Bluepaw just beamed, wiggling her tail. "I'm going to bother Thistlepaw now! Later!" Bluepaw skipped away, her little white toes becoming slightly gray as dust swirled onto the fur.

Whitepool just smiled slightly once again; she wasn't sure what else to do.

"How. Did. You. Do. That? I have to know the secret! That kit doesn't listen to anyone, not even her father! I mean, how? Just…how?" Spottedflower asked, scooting closer to Whitepool as if she wouldn't be able to hear her from her previous position.

Whitepool smiled, shrugging. "I guess I just have the magic touch."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hmm...the magic touch? Does the touching of Bluepaw's ears (or tail?) in the prologue and Bluepaw shivering have anything to do with this? Perhaps... I hoped that my faithful reviewers enjoyed this (even though it was short...)!


	4. C h a p t e r 3

**Authors Note: **Ha! I'm getting better at update times, no? Thanks to my eight or nine reviewers (I lost count XP)! Seriously. It makes my day to see the encouraging comments that you guys leave on the chapters. Even if some of them are ones that just say: Update!

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

_W h i t e p o o l _grunted as a paw poked onto her shoulder, her eyelids twitching as she began to awake from her deep sleep. Suddenly, the paw poked again, this time on her flank and a bit harder than before.

"Alright, I'm getting up…" she mumbled groggily, her eyes feeling heavy and her vision blurry as she opened her eyes.

She yawned, revealing the neat rows of sharp teeth, before turning and seeing a warrior by the name of Oakfrost standing before her, his eyes narrowed.

"You're due for the dawn patrol," he rumbled, his yellow eye narrowed with a chilling resemblance to a snake. Whitepool grunted once again, getting to her paws and shaking the dislodged pieces of moss from her fur.

Whitepool turned, licking her flank, before looking back at the usually quiet and gruff tom. "What about my apprentice?" she asked between licks.

Oakfrost just snorted, his stub of a tail flicking. "Just tell her to clean the elders den," he growled, before turning and slinking silently from the warriors den. _He's a strange one, _she thought, giving her fur a final shake. _With that one angry yellow eye, that stump of tail, and those battle scars…quite frightening, really. _

Of course, she hardly talked to the large tom, but he was hard to not glance at every once and awhile.

With a light bounce in her step, she padded out of the warriors den, the brambles that were neatly woven into it's walls poking at her side. She twitched her ear at the two other cats at the entrance, preparing herself for the tiring and long walking around the BrambleClan borders.

_Let's just pray to StarClan that MarshClan is staying within their borders, _she thought, lowly growling to herself as she thought of the sneaky and cowardly cats. The cats of the marsh were all talk, really, and they often fought dirty. Like nips at your neck and claw pricks at your belly dirty. _Cowards, the lot of them. _

A young, pretty, female warrior named Leafwing took the lead, her graceful paws skimming over the forest floor with ease. Whitepool fell in step, taking up the middle, with Oakfrost partially behind and partially beside her.

At not even a fox length away from the vine tunnel that lead out to the forest, crashing pawsteps sounded from behind her. Whitepool's ears shot up, and she looked over her shoulder, only to roll her eyes and groan at who she saw running toward the patrol.

"Whitepool! Whitepool!" Bluepaw squeaked, running to them with little paws. Her fluffy tail was kinked over her back and she skidded to a halt in when she reached her mentor.

"Bluepaw, what are you doing here?" she asked, nervously, looking at the other cats to see how they were handling this. _Just go and stop bugging me! _Was what she really wanted to say, but couldn't in fear of hurting her apprentices feelings. Even if the cat was getting a bit too clingy, Whitepool was a patient and calm cat. Well, to everyone else.

Her apprentice grinned. "Oh, I wanted to know what you were doing! Out of camp! Without me!" The look in the blue-gray she-cat's eyes frightened her, to say the least. It was something that chilled her; it made her fur unnoticeably stand on end.

Oakfrost just snorted, "Get back to camp, kit. Your mentor is going on the dawn patrol." The larger, thicker furred, tom just glared at Bluepaw as the she-cat slowly turned her head to look at him.

"But I wasn't talking to you," she hissed through gritted teeth. "So please, _please, _let Whitepool answer." The blue-gray apprentice sounded as though she was attempting to hold back spitting rage, as Whitepool realized.

Whitepool just chuckled nervously. "Now now, Bluepaw, don't be rude to Oakfrost," She looked to the light brown tabby. "Just ignore her." She attempted to warn, but realized that she was too late as Oakfrost had begun to allow his hackles to rise.

His shoulder fur spiked up as he stared down at Bluepaw. "Whitepool's a decent cat," he growled, "So I'm surprised that you don't know manners already, given that you've spent about six days as her apprentice," He suddenly smirked, like a fox. "But I guess that thick head of yours can't process how to behave correctly, right?"

_Oh no…. _Whitepool opened her mouth to tell both of them to settle down, but another cat, a tom named Blacktail, was standing next to them, a nervous smile on his face.

"Alright, guys," he said, laughing nervously. "Let's not get our tails in a twist here."

But Bluepaw just narrowed her eyes at Oakfrost. "You're only picking on me to fill the lonely void in your life! Bullies have often been bullied too, you know!" she growled, her tail lashing and causing a plume of dirt to rise.

"I'm not being a bully, kit," he growled, "Just tellin' the truth," He paused for a second. "There's a difference."

Leafwing let out an exasperated sigh. "Can we please get on with the dawn patrol?" Of course, Whitepool had to agree with her. The whole fight that was going on was rather pointless. Just a scuffle.

"Yes, please!" Blacktail agreed. Whitepool saw that the dark tom was now in between the two cats, holding them back from shredding each others ears. "These two are going to kill each other at any moment now!"

Leafwing just grabbed Oakfrost's stumpy tail in her jaws, pulling him back a bit, but not too rough. "Come on," she growled through fur, "The kit's not worth it."

Bluepaw was now being held in the air from Blacktail's jaws, swiping at the air. "Stop calling me a kit!" she hissed, trying to twist away from Blacktail's grip.

"Why can't we be friends…?" Blacktail mumbled, before giving Leafwing an ear flick. "I'm going to bring Bluepaw to Mousestar. She'll find a punishment that suits her."

Bluepaw was still twisting in Blacktail's grasp, peeking over his shoulder. "Whitepool, help! I didn't do anything!"

Whitepool just shrugged. "You can't speak to a warrior that way, Bluepaw, and you can't start fights with your own clanmates," she meowed neutrally, calming herself down from her own embarrassment. _I can't believe that she almost got into a fight with Oakfrost! I just hope Mousestar doesn't plan on giving me a punishment for standing by and not doing anything… After all, I_ should've _trained Bluepaw better, _she thought, turning back to the other two cats.

_Maybe…maybe Oakfrost is right…. _She looked over and saw that the large tom was glaring at her with his single eye. _Perhaps I _am _slacking at training her. But…but that's not because she's my kin. No, of course not! It's just that…well…oh, I don't know. It's probably because she's so hard to train! I've never seen an apprentice this clingy to her mentor! I can't go out of camp without her, I can't talk to my friends without her jumping into the conversation… It seems like she wants to follow me everywhere._

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><p>And halfway through the dawn patrol, when Blacktail ran towards her, telling her that Mousestar wanted to see her, it seemed like she was repeating her private thoughts to the BrambleClan leader, with Bluepaw waiting outside and Blacktail with her, watching to see if she'd try to ease drop. Mousestar was listening quietly, processing all of the information.<p>

"…and that's not even the worst part! Mousestar, I just…I know it seems far fetched, and strange, but…have you ever seen an apprentice more…oh, I don't know…clingy? It kind of scares me."

Mousestar smiled slowly, causing Whitepool's eyes to widen. "Whitepool, did you ever think that Bluepaw just looks up to you? You're a very good warrior; you have a neutral personality, you're kind, smart, and your belief in StarClan is unquestionable. Perhaps your kin just aspires to be a good warrior too."

_That thought has crossed my mind, _she thought, her ears flattening to her head, _and it seems improbable. _"I don't think so, Mousestar," Whitepool murmured. "She's-"

"Whitepool," She could tell that the small leader was getting impatient, and she couldn't find herself blaming her. This whole situation could've been avoided. "Bluepaw is an airhead, and bubbly. But when angered, she's like her mother: she picks a fight. Do you remember how many times you and your sister were in here as apprentices? How many times Oakfrost was as well?"

Whitepool nodded slowly, recalling most of the times that she'd been in this den, facing her leader.

"I'm sorry that you feel as though you're being…stalked, maybe? But I can't punish Bluepaw because her personality differs from Oakfrost's, Leafwing's, Blacktail's, yours, or mine, for that matter. It's just how her brain responds to things." Whitepool wanted to tell Mousestar that other cats have been punished for their personalities, but decided to bit back her tongue. "So, for now, I can only give her a warning, and hope, as I've planned, that you'd help your apprentice bloom into a calmer cat."

Whitepool looked at her paws. "Yes, Mousestar…" she mumbled, feeling like a punished apprentice again.

Mousestar just nodded. "Good. Now, go back to your duties. I suspect the border patrol is almost finished, anyhow."

Whitepool nodded, turning around and padding from the leaders den. She hardly acknowledged her apprentice, and walked off to the entrance of camp, needing some fresh air.

_I think Mousestar's wrong, _she thought as she picked up speed and ran through the forest, _Bluepaw isn't like other apprentices, and I don't mean that in a good way. She's… I don't really even know myself. But, there's something…off about her. I think. I really need to pay closer attention to her, I guess. The more times that I allow her to walk all over me, the worse it's going to get. _Whitepool skidded to a stop, looking back at the BrambleClan camp entrance that was just a speck in the distance.

_I need to set up ground rules. _

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>I think that this chapter was okay...a little bleh, but whatever XD. The Oak and Blue fight was a bit hard to write, because I wanted Oakfrost to try and remain a bit calm...but I don't think that worked out too well ^^. He's an interesting fuzz ball, no?


	5. C h a p t e r 4

**Authors Note: **Thanks to my many reviewers! I tried to make this one longer than the others, so please enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

_S h e _would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited. Of course, this day only came once in a moon, and even then, you sometimes didn't go. She stood from her nest, poking her nose through the brambles, and spotted Mousestar on the Branchpile, her creamy light brown fur glowing a peaceful silver-white in the moonlight.

She also spotted the medicine cat, Briarcloud, sitting attentively next to the deputy, Foxclaw, her amber eyes reflecting the stars like a sheet of ice; the perfect reflector. Foxclalw was impatiently pacing in weird and sloppy circles, making a new one every time he turned.

Smiling mostly to herself, she slipped out of the warriors den, her tail flicking absently. Mousestar was now looking over her clan, a warm smile on her face. Even though some curiously peeked over to see what she was smiling about, the small leader just continued to look down at her deputy and medicine cat.

_Just announce who's going to the Gathering already, please! _she thought, making it look like she was just taking a small stroll around camp, when she was really eagerly waiting for Mousestar's announcement. _I really, really hope that I can go! I mean, I didn't last moon, and I was stuck entertaining mother in the elders den. _

As if Dovefrost could hear her daughters thoughts, the almost identical white she-cat pitifully limped over to her, giving her a thoughtful blink with her glassy green eyes; glassy and droopy from age.

"Whitepool," she rasped, licking her daughters cheek as an effort to calm her down. "Mousestar is just waiting for the right time to announce, which will be in a few moments. The moon isn't at it's highest peak yet." Whitepool stopped pacing for a moment, looking over at her mother.

"But, Dovefrost," Whitepool had stopped calling her mother 'Mother' when she turned a warrior, about the same time that Dovefrost went to the elders den. "Shouldn't she just-"

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Branchpile for a clan meeting!" Whitepool flattened her ears to her head, ignoring Dovefrost's smug 'I told you so' look, and begun padding to the center of the crowd, her ears pricked in case-

"Oh, Whitepool, there you are!" _Fox-dung. _"I was looking for you!" Whitepool shut her eyes and took a deep breath, sitting down and looking back over her shoulder. "Bluepaw, please-"

"Now that we're all gathered, the following cats will be accompanying Briarcloud, Foxclaw, and I to the Gathering: Dovefrost, Grayshade, Ravenpaw, Oakfrost-" Whitepool inwardly cursed at the thought of Oakfrost, "-Blacktail, Rainstrike, Spottedflower, Hawkshadow, Dawnwing, Whitepool, Thistlepaw, and Streamfeather."

She smiled at the mention of her name, and the ignorance of another. _Yes! I'm going and Bluepaw's staying! Thank you StarClan! _As she inwardly cheered, she couldn't help but feel a twist in her stomach. _Is it…is it wrong of me to be so happy that my apprentice isn't going? I mean, I know that I should be a bit more…kind to her, but….oh, it doesn't matter! I'm going! _

Mousestar just smiled down at her clan, her eyes warm and laced with care, before jumping off of the Branchpile, Briarcloud instantly following her, with Foxclaw grudgingly slumping off after. Whitepool got to her paws, smiling still, and begun walking, not even casting a glance behind her to see her apprentices reaction.

Rainstrike and Spottedflower passed her, with Rainstrike talking about showing off Ravenpaw to the other clans and Spottedflower worriedly asking about Bluepaw.

"Rainstrike, she's so small, and a hawk can carry her away, and we'll never see her again, and she'll be forced to raise hawk chicks all by herself and live a lonely life!" Whitepool smiled at her sister.

Rainstrike just sighed, "Spottedflower, I thought we talked about Bluepaw. She won't live a lonely life, dear,"

Spottedflower just shook her head. "You never know! They say StarClan works in mysterious ways, and…oh no! Maybe they're going to give her a lonely life because I never prayed after killing that mouse before moving into the nursery!" Spottedflower looked up at the Silverpelt, her eyes worried. "I'm sorry!"

Whitepool suddenly walked up to her sisters other side, laying a tail on her back. "Bluepaw's going to be fine, Spottedflower," she meowed, smiling. "She has cats to watch her back."

Spottedflower just bit her bottom lip, looking completely unconvinced. Whitepool sighed. You couldn't say that she didn't try.

Moonlight had a cold splash on the forest life below, it's silver splotches making the grass look white in the moonlight and the places it didn't reach extend out like cruel, skeletal, claws, reaching out to grab wanders from their positions and drag them into the depths below. Whitepool lightly smiled as she saw Ravenpaw, but then slightly frowned upon seeing her kin walking all alone.

Slipping away from the lightly arguing Rainstrike and Spottedflower, Whitepool padded up to the slim black-and-white apprentice.

"Hey, Ravenpaw," Of course, Whitepool didn't expect Ravenpaw to let out a shriek of fear, jolt, and almost collapse on the floor. Some cats noticeably turned for a second to see what happened, but then ignored it once they saw Ravenpaw gasp for air, his legs spread apart, head down, and his fur standing on end.

"W-Whitepool, y-you scared me half to death!" he mewed, looking up at her with newly changed fern-green eyes - Ravenpaw's eye color had just matured from it's kitten-blue to green.

"Sorry, Ravenpaw!" she meowed, helping him lick down the ruffled fur on his shoulders.

Ravenpaw just sighed, beginning to walk away, all by himself once again. "It's fine…" Whitepool attempted to fight it, but she couldn't help but feel a stab of pity for the black-and-white apprentice.

She bounded after him, easily shortening the distance between them with her long legs. "Ravenpaw," She skidded to a stop next to him, but the apprentice didn't look up at her. "Why don't you talk to Thistlepaw or Grayshade? Staying by yourself isn't fun," she meowed, lowering her head to meet his gaze levelly.

Ravenpaw gulped, "I just…I just don't want too." he meowed, but Whitepool could tell that there was more than just that.

"But you're just so shy around all of us - BrambleClan, I mean - and there really isn't a reason to be," she meowed, bouncing over a oak tree root.

Ravenpaw shrugged, "Thistlepaw is okay, I guess, but…." he paused, something that she couldn't identify flashing in the young cats eyes.

"But what?" she whispered, not wanting to sound pestering.

Ravenpaw's eyes suddenly flared with a fire that she wasn't expecting. "But what?" he spat, unsheathing his claws and picking his pace up a bit. Whitepool noticed that they were getting closer to the Gathering place. "_But what? _Bluepaw is what's what!" Whitepool made a shushing sound, not wanting the other cats to hear the conversation at hand.

Ravenpaw's voice lowered to a deadly growl, "My idiot sister _steals _all of my friends! When Thistlepaw was a kit, Bluepaw just loved to cut into my conversation and bother him! And then he didn't want to hang out anymore because Bluepaw was creeping him out! Mother said that 'Oh, Bluepaw would have no friends if it weren't for Thistlekit; you're just overreacting'," Whitepool almost laughed on how good Ravenpaw's impersonation of his mother was. Almost. "But I'm not overreacting when I say that everyone pays more attention to her than me!"

Whitepool frowned. It was true. It was usually about Bluepaw, and Ravenpaw was her shadow. "I'm sorry….," she begun, not sure what else to say.

Ravenpaw just shook his head. "What do you have to apologize for?" he mumbled, looking at his paws.

"We're here," Whitepool's ears pricked once she heard Briarcloud's call to the other cats.

Whitepool looked at Ravenpaw, licking his ear. "I guess I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you. Maybe tomorrow you, Grayshade, Bluepaw and I will all go out training together," she meowed, smiling.

He just shrugged in response. "Whatever…" And with that, the patched apprentice slumped away, falling in step with Grayshade. His mentor looked over his shoulder, giving Whitepool a knowing look, telling her that he heard everything.

"Yay," Whitepool looked over her own shoulder, seeing Oakfrost roll his eye. "We're going to a Gathering to meet cats who are jerks to us, and are expected to not gag when we get a whiff of their stench."

Whitepool sighed, but couldn't help but agree with the battle-scared tom. MarshClan cats did stink pretty bad. _Probably from rolling in their own dirt all day, _she thought, rolling her own eyes, _or whatever. Who knows what they do besides bother everyone that they come within five pawsteps of. _

Ravenpaw was still only a bit ahead of her, but she noticed that the shy apprentice's eyes glowed once he saw the hollow of cats from the other clan. Whitepool stepped onto the ridge of the bowl-like area that was the Gathering Hollow; a small stream on one side, nice, tall and smooth grass, and a clump of trees off to the side.

Whitepool smiled to herself, picking her pace back up and slowing her pace to an even speed in the middle of the group. The white she-cat flicked her tail as they drew near the Gathering area, where the cats of MarshClan were waiting, their eyes narrowed.

_It feels weird, _she thought, frowning, _I remember Father telling Spottedflower and I about the original four clans, the clans that we branched off of. And there are four of them, which means that they must have a full gathering place when the time comes to it. _She sniffed, _Which means that they must have more news than 'More kits. More apprentices. It's Leafbare. The end.'. _

Whitepool padded into the hallow, smiling as an old friend of hers - one of the few decent MarshClan cats - Fernwing beamed at her, padding up to meet her.

"Whitepool!" she purred, touching noses with her friend, "Nice to see you again. You weren't here at the last Gathering." the brown-gray she-cat mewed, twitching her whiskers.

Whitepool shrugged. "I couldn't go to the last seven gatherings because of Spottedflower. Someone had to watch her and get her what she needed. We have to be extra careful with pregnancies after…," It was a subject that was rarely brought up in BrambleClan. Whitepool would be surprised if Ravenpaw and Bluepaw knew about it.

A few moons before Ravenpaw and Bluepaw were born, a she-cat by the name of Brooksplash had begun to go into labor. But, unlike normal kittings, there was way too much blood being spilled, and Brooksplash was too small for the three kits that she gave birth to. So, with Spottedflower to early in her pregnancy for milk to be produced, and with no other queen, the one kit that didn't die - Brooksplash died before she could push the other two out, causing them to suffocate inside of their mother - died a few days later, after MarshClan refused to nurse him.

Fernwing flinched. Like Whitepool said, not all MarshClan cats were barbaric. "But she's okay, right? I mean, she gave birth.."

"Yeah. She's right over there with Rainstrike, and her son-" Whitepool stopped seeing Spottedflower struggling against Rainstrike's hold, while Ravenpaw sat a few tail-lengths away, chatting to a couple of female MarshClan apprentices. _What's wrong now? _

"Uh, I've got to go. Nice seeing you again, Fernwing!" Whitepool bounded over to the scene, her eyes wide with worry and embarrassment.

"What's wrong with you?" Whitepool hissed as she came near Spottedflower, her tail lashing.

Spottedflower flicked her tail to where Ravenpaw was sitting, completely oblivious to his mothers episode. "You see that? Those are all _she-cat's_!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Whitepool gawked at her sister. "So?"

"He's going to get them pregnant! Those she-cat's are probably the type that lift up their tail to any tom willing, and he's growing up! He'll have a whole clan's worth of kits, and he won't even remember their mothers name!"

_Seriously? Not this again! _"Spottedflower, dear, Ravenpaw won't get them pregnant, just like Bluepaw won't live a lonely life," Rainstrike mewed through fur, tightening his grip on his mates scruff.

"Let the Gathering begin!"

* * *

><p>The rest of the Gathering had gone by rather smoothly. MarshClan had nothing to report, and Mousestar had told the other clan about Bluepaw and Ravenpaw's apprenticeship. Whitepool was now heading home, staying as far back from Spottedflower as she could.<p>

Her sister was now telling Ravenpaw about becoming a father, what getting pregnant does to a she-cat's body, about mood swings…she even went into detail on how kits were made, and that made even Whitepool cringe.

Thistlepaw, who'd been standing behind them, just widened his eyes, and walked around the mother and son, shaking his head. "I didn't want to know that!"

Whitepool just sighed, her tail flicking back and forth. She felt content as she walked slower, now being about a fox-length behind the other cats.

Though the content did not last long, for a familiar voice hissed from the bushes: "Whitepool!"

Whitepool paused, her ears pricked. _Bluepaw! _Briarcloud looked over her shoulder, staring questionably at Whitepool. Whitepool smiled weakly. "Erm - just a cramp. Walking it off.."

Briarcloud shrugged, continuing to walk away. Whitepool frowned, shoving her head into the bushes and finding Bluepaw grinning ear to ear, her eyes bright.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, eyes narrowed.

Bluepaw grinned even wider. "I came to see you, the bestest mentor ever!"

"Okay, first of all, 'bestest' isn't even a word. And secondly, why? You could've been taken by a fox or something!" Whitepool snapped.

Bluepaw blinked. "But I didn't."

"But you could've!"

"_But I didn't." _

Whitepool just blinked, stepping away from the bush and blinking. The way Bluepaw said that…it frightened her, to say the least.

"You're not going to tell, right?"

Whitepool exhaled through her nostrils, sending the voice change to the back of her mind. "No. But if you ever do that again, great StarClan, I will personally make the rest of your apprenticeship involve pointless labor and punishment, all given to you by me personally." she growled.

Bluepaw just twitched her ear. "It was only a one time thing."

_Sure. _Whitepool thought as Bluepaw skipped away, hiding herself from the patrol. _Sure it was. _


	6. C h a p t e r 5

**Authors Note: **So terribly sorry to everyone for the delay! I had a project due, and I couldn't get around to this until this morning. This chapter isn't oh-so-long, but I really wanted to get it out. And it's an all dream chapter, so please, enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

_T h i s was a strange feeling in a strange place. What was this feeling, Whitepool asked herself? Perhaps discomfort, or possibly discontent. But wait, wasn't that the same thing? Or…oh, did it matter? _

_The air chilled her flanks, causing the fur that was perfectly groomed to rise up in spikes. The trees that stood around her in great rows had branches like thin, misshapen claws, with moonlight giving their tips and edges a cold splash of silvery-white. _

_Whitepool's sun-colored eyes narrowed, drinking in her surroundings. She sniffed, tasting the air for any scent traces. Nothing. She had just gotten back from the Gathering, glancing around camp until she found Bluepaw's tail-tip disappearing into the apprentices den, before going to her nest into the warriors den and curled into her nest, and fell asleep. _

_She growled, attempting to disguise her fear and confusion. "Is anyone there?" she hissed, trying to keep her spinal fur from rising. She had to remain presentable. _

_After what seemed like an hour, there was still no reply. Silence. Complete and utter silence. She twitched her whiskers, placing a paw in front of her. _

_As if moving had triggered some sort of switch, the bushes in front of her shook and trembled, something inside of them causing them to churn with movement. She narrowed her eyes even further, swishing her tail back and forth as she hesitantly thought out her next move. _

"_Who….who's there? I won't fight; not unless you provoke me too…..b-but I will if I have to," she mewed, lowering her head to make her appearance more frightening. _

_Whitepool let out a low, warning growl as the bushes once again shook, but this time, a cat slipped from it's shelter, shaking the loose pieces of leaves from it's fur. The white she-cat peered closely at the new cat, watching her. _

_This she-cat had fluffy brown tabby fur, with warm yellow eyes set in a pretty face. Whoever she was, she wasn't how Whitepool would imagine a StarClan cat. This cat didn't have any stars in her fur, but she did have a nasty scar on her throat. _

Don't you lose your scars in StarClan? _she thought, blinking slowly, _And….you're supposed to have stars in your fur too. Wait - scars and no stars…. _Her eyes widened in slight realization, and her ears flattened to her head. _

"_Wait - you're not a StarClan cat, are you?" she hissed, her claws sliding from their sheaths and defensively drawing out. _

_The cat blinked at her once, before smiling. Whitepool's nostrils flared, her tail-tip quivering. The she-cat didn't appear to be dangerous; she seemed warm and friendly, despite having a few scars with probably many stories behind them. _

_The long-furred brown tabby twitched her whiskers, causing a dead leaf that had been poking beside her face to crumble to the floor. "I'm not, no." she mewed with a voice a smooth as honey. _

_Whitepool flattened her ears to her head. "There's just StarClan, right? So…does that mean….you're a cat who can appear in dreams?" she asked, blinking slowly. _

_The she-cat sighed, "No. There's not just StarClan; there is another place where cats go. And this is the place," The cat looked around her, as if emphasizing her point. _

_She blinked. "_Another place_? But….but StarClan-" _

"_I'm not here to explain the differences between here and StarClan, okay? I'm here to…warn you." she snapped, then said slowly. The she-cat looked around quickly, as if this was secret information that she was going to pass. _

"_Warn me? About what? Who are you, anyway? I just don't listen to random pieces of advice from weird cats who says they're not from StarClan," she meowed nonchalantly, narrowing her eyes. _

_The she-cat's nose quivered, before she let out a long sigh. "Birdfrost's my name. I used to be the medicine cat for RiverClan, the clan that MarshClan is partially descended from. I did some…things, things that I'm not too proud of. But, like I said, I'm just here to warn you. And don't attempt to drag out my past from me, because that's not happening honey. I don't intend to spend all night long having this conversation with a young one like you." she hissed, her voice formerly being soft and a slight whisper, but then being a rushed snap. _

_Whitepool grunted. "Fine than, Birdfrost. What do you have to warn me about? I don't have all night, either," she meowed, flicking her tail. _

_Birdfrost just snorted. "Swiftpelt said that you were a clam one, but I guess he misread." _

_She rolled her eyes. "I usually am, I just…." she trailed off, finding that explaining everything to this random cat would be sort of…..awkward, she guessed. _

"_Just tell me. Whom am I to tell? The trees?" _

_Whitepool looked at her paws for one moment, before looking back up, finding her gaze lingering on the trees and their ghostly branches. "My…my apprentice, Bluepaw. I don't understand why, but she worships me like she should StarClan. Her behavior is abnormal, to say the least, and I just…..I just don't understand," she meowed, sighing, "Maybe it's just me." _

_Birdfrost shifts. "Your apprentice is who I wanted to warn you about." _

_Whitepool looked at her, eyes slightly widened. "Wait….she…..is? What's wrong with her?" _

_The former medicine cat turned her head around; Whitepool had to bit her tongue to keep from gasping in disgust as she saw the nasty scar's skin overlap over each other, showing dark scabby spots where it clearly hadn't been treated. _

"_Think of Bluepaw as….as this bracken bush," Whitepool looked over the she-cat's shoulder, seeing a dead bracken bush with it's tendrils curled around a dead oaken tree, as if the bush needed that tree for support. _

"_A….bush? You're comparing a cat to a dead bush?" Whitepool asked, slightly offended on Bluepaw's behalf. _

_Birdfrost sighed. "Just listen, please! Anywho, yes. A bush. You see-" Birdfrost looked back at the bush, turned all the way. Whitepool nervously went to her side. "-this….bush looks like it's attached to the tree, right? If you were four fox lengths away, you wouldn't be able to see the tree and the bush as two separate parts. Well, that's sort of like you and your apprentice. Bluepaw relies on you, she needs you. Like the bush needs the tree." _

_Whitepool cocked her head to one side. "The bush doesn't really need the tree, right? I mean, I've seen tons and tons of bracken in clumps, with no tree near them." _

_Birdfrost's eyes slightly brightened. "Exactly!" _

"_Er - what? I'm not following." Whitepool mewed, shaking her head. _What in StarClan's name is she trying to get at?

_Birdfrost sighed. "Whitepool, the bush doesn't really _need_ the tree. It can be independent, but because of how it was sprouted, it grows onto the tree. Following?" she asked, giving the smaller cat a sideways glance. _

_Whitepool nodded slightly, forming pieces of this conclusion into her brain. _

"_Well…this is sort of like you and Bluepaw. You see, Bluepaw can be herself, but she chooses not to. She chooses…to be like you." Birdfrost meowed, her ears flattening to her head. _

_Whitepool blinked twice. "W-what? She has a personality - her _own _- right? I mean, she's…." _

"Like a younger you."


	7. C h a p t e r 6

**Authors Note: **Sorry you guys for the long wait, but a week before Christmas Eve, my dog of nine years had to be put down. He had a huge tumor the size of grape fruit in his chest, so the old guy had to be put to sleep :'(. But, Jake had a good nine years of life with us, so it's not all bad. Well, thank you for all of the reviews, guys! Really, it made me smile.

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

_S o m e t i m e s, _Whitepool noticed, life just loved to throw you a curved moss-ball. She wanted an apprentice; she got one. Well, that small, insignificant thirty seconds seemed _really_ good right back then. But now Whitepool would do anything to get Bluepaw away from her.

"….So do you know what Ravenpaw said? Do ya, Whitepool? Do ya?" her apprentice squeaked with the most excitement and utter annoyance that Whitepool had ever encountered.

"Obviously not, unless I magically appeared into your dream." Whitepool replied dryly, ducking underneath a low tree branch.

Bluepaw skipped behind her, her tiny paw tapping on the back of Whitepool's paws. The fluffy white she-cat almost uttered a low growl, but stopped, forcing herself to remain calm for the sake of her sanity.

"Oh, well, what had happened was, I was walking around, right? And all of the sudden, Ravenpaw, like, jumped out of the bush!" she mewed, her tail wagging to and fro more excitedly than a fox pup who'd just seen his mother with new prey.

Whitepool just continued to keep her scowl on her face. "Amazing," she mumbled with a monotonously tinged voice.

Bluepaw just grinned, continuing to be completely and utterly oblivious to the fact that Whitepool _did not care_. "Finally! You and I are on the, like, same page! I mean, we usually are, but now we're even more! Isn't that exciting?"

_No. _"Yeah, sure it is."

Whitepool stepped around a fallen log, padding into the clearing that she had chosen for her and Bluepaw's fighting session. She eyed the skeletal-like branches of the bare oaken trees, her tail-tip twitching nonchalantly.

Bluepaw skipped into the clearing shortly after her, her frosty blue eyes filling with so much excitement that it just made Whitepool feel uncomfortable. _Seriously, what's wrong with her? She's driving me insane! She's more attached to me then I've ever seen any cat! I've never been this mean to a cat out loud and eternally! _

Whitepool straightened her back, knowing that she couldn't possibly be seen slouching and dragging herself around if she ever wanted to mentor another cat again. She cleared her throat, "Now, Bluepaw, today we're going to be practicing battle moves. Now, I know that this might be kind of scary for a new born like you, but I promise you, I'm not going to be unsheathing my claws or harming you physically."

The blue-gray apprentice grinned, "Oh, I know that you won't harm me, Whitepool! I so trust you!" she purred, her tail flicking.

Whitepool just gave Bluepaw an awkward smile. "Um…right…now, onto the first exercise. I'm going to charge at you, and you react. Simple, right?" she asked. Bluepaw bobbed her head, dropping into the hunters crouch.

Grunting, Whitepool copied her movements, her eyes narrowing. With growl, she leaped out of her position, charging toward her apprentice with a slowed speed. Bluepaw stared up at her with wondrous eyes, her tail flicking. _Come on, do something! _Whitepool's eyes widened as she realized that Bluepaw wasn't moving at all, not leaping away or anything. She skidded to a stop, but not soon enough to avoid smacking into Bluepaw. The white she-cat and blue-furred apprentice tumbled forward, rolling into a small incline beneath a rose bush. Whitepool thudded against the floor, 'accidentally' - as she would later tell Bluepaw - kicking her apprentice off of her. Bluepaw rolled away from her, almost lifelessly.

Whitepool bounced on her paw almost immediately, craning her neck to get a better view of the state of her fur. Patched with dirt and plants; it wasn't in a good shape. A loud snarl escaped her lips, and the anger was almost enough to swipe her off of her paws.

Bluepaw pounced over to her, grinning. "That was like, so fun! I can't-"

"Stop talking," Whitepool said lowly, turning away from her apprentice, "Please."

Bluepaw blinked. "Wh-what?" she asked, flattening her ears to her head.

Whitepool shut her eyes, inhaling deeply, before opening them again and looking back over her shoulder. "You're impossible!" She found her voice raising in spite of herself, but couldn't find herself caring or wanting to stop it. "I've seen kits who can do better just by stalking a leaf! What's wrong with you? Are you mentally stupid, or are you just trying to be cute?" she hissed, rounding on Bluepaw.

Hurt. That's what Whitepool mostly saw in Bluepaw's eyes. The other emotion was surprise, but when Bluepaw opened her mouth to say something, Whitepool couldn't stop.

"No, not another word. I don't want to hear some stupid, squeaky response about how you can't believe what situation you're in, or how I'm amazing. I'm not that amazing! I don't have a mate, kits, my best friends my sister, and I only have had one, stupid apprentice! And an apprentice who can't even react to a cat charging at her properly! Is that what you're going to do in a battle? Just allow a cat to charge into you and possible _kill_ you? Again, what's wrong with you? Can't you just be _normal_?" Whitepool was practically panting by the finish of her rant.

Bluepaw was just blinking, not even speaking. But then, suddenly, her face contorted to that of hurt, and she seemed to be hold back sobs. "You're the only cat who hasn't told me to be normal!" And with that, Bluepaw charged away into the bracken.

* * *

><p>Bluepaw hadn't bothered Whitepool for the rest of the day, and even the next. Every time she tried to come close to her apprentice, Bluepaw just looked away and scampered to her mother. Whitepool wasn't sure if Spottedflower knew or not, but she didn't want to find out.<p>

"What's Bluepaw's damage?" Whitepool jolted, looking behind her and seeing Ravenpaw look up at her curiously. "She hasn't been talking all day, not ever since you two came back from that training session."

She sighed, turning back to the center of camp, and seeing Bluepaw sulking in front of Spottedflower. Spottedflower suddenly found Whitepool, before mouthing 'You're so dead' to her.

"I messed up, Ravenpaw," she murmured, her tail smacking against the dirt. "I guess I just messed up."

* * *

><p>"Whitepool? You wanted to see me?" Whitepool sighed, watching as Mousestar flicked her tail for Foxclaw to leave. The ginger tom just blinked, scowling, before slipping past Whitepool and out of the leaders den.<p>

Whitepool gulped, "Yes, I did."

Mousestar sighed. "Well make it quick; I don't really have all day to listen to everyone's problems."

Whitepool blinked, before sighing. "Well…I…umm…," she just sighed for the umpteenth time, "Okay, Bluepaw and I were training-"

Mousestar groaned. "Another Bluepaw story,"

Whitepool just shifted, "-right, so we were training, and, well, Bluepaw just sat there and let me charge into after I told her that she just had to react when I was charging. And, well, some words were said, and now she won't talk to me much less train." Whitepool looked at the leader, trying to get a read on her expression.

Mousestar twitched her whiskers. "Well that certainly seems like a problem, doesn't it?" Whitepool nodded, feeling like the leader was on her side, until Mousestar just gave her a small glare. "But from what I see, Bluepaw's having a good time training with Grayshade and Ravenpaw. Now I'm not dumping your responsibilities on Grayshade, but until you decide to get over this…I don't even know what, 'thing' I guess, with Bluepaw, he should be the one to train her."

Whitepool gaped at her leader, "B-but, Mousestar, that's not fair!" she gasped, blinking rapidly.

Mousestar just flicked an ear, "Well, Whitepool, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but life's sort of not fair either. You can't exactly say 'oh, life's not fair, blah blah blah', and expect it to magically heal itself over," she said nonchalantly, her tail flicking.

Whitepool smacked her tail on the floor, growling. "Yes, Mousestar." And with that, Whitepool turned around, slumping into the camp.

Blacktail skipped over to Whitepool a few moments later, stopping and giving her a small smile. "Whitepool, we're going on the sunhigh patrol, care to come?" he asked politely, his tail pointing toward the camp entrance.

"Uh, yeah, sure thing," Whitepool grumbled, following the black tom to the entrance of camp. Whitepool didn't know whether her eyes were playing some sort of trick on her, but the white she-cat could've sworn that she saw Bluepaw staring murderously at the leaders den.

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><p>Coming back from the sunhigh patrol, Whitepool didn't know what to expect, but she certainly didn't expect the camp to be in a frenzy, cat's running in and out of the forest and crowding in clumps.<p>

Blacktail's ear flicked, before he padded up to Briarcloud, clearing his throat in order for her to snap out of her trance.

"Uh, Briarcloud, what's going on?" he asked.

The brown she-cat just shook her head. "Mousestar, uh, went for a walk and…" She was shaking, badly.

"Mousestar's missing."

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>Hmm... *taps chin thoughtfully* well, I wonder who could've done it? Like it's a huge mystery...


	8. C h a p t e r 7

**Authors Note: **This is, sadly, not a long update. But, my laptop was spazzing out so I couldn't make this super long. But, thank you all for the reviews!

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven <strong>

_S p o t t e d p a w chased after the leaf, showering a storm of crisp, golden leaves over Whitepaw's newly kempt fur. The white she-cat fluffed up her fur, leaping to her paws and curled her lip at her sister. _

"_You're an idiot, Spottedpaw! Mother wanted me to keep my fur clean for when Father comes!" she hissed, her amber eyes boring into her sisters longer, dappled fur. _

_Spottedpaw stopped chasing her tail, and twitched her whiskers at her sister, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not an idiot! If I was, I wouldn't have gotten Mousestep as my mentor, now would I?" she retorted, her eyes glittering as her twin sisters eyes filled with envy for a heartbeat. _

_Whitepaw lashed her tail, "Oh, you just _love _using that against me, don't you?" she growled, her claws threatening to unsheathe at any moment. "Well, it's not…it's not working, moron!" She flattened her ears to her head as Spottedpaw gritted her teeth. _

"_Mouse brain."_

"_Fox dung." _

"_Idiot."_

"_Ignoramus." _

_Spottedpaw blinked, "What does that even mean?" she spat, her back arching. "You and Mother always use that word!" _

_Whitepaw drew her tongue over her flank, nosing off an autumn leaf. "Perhaps Mother didn't tell you because you're too much of a kit, Spotty," she mocked, raising her muzzle as she used her sisters hated nickname. _

"_Or perhaps Mother didn't tell either of you because she knew you'd use it against each other," Whitepaw and Spottedpaw both jumped as a deep voice came from a tail-length away. _

_Whitepaw ducked her head with embarrassment as the large golden brown tom looked expectantly at her. "I'm sorry Father - I mean Bramblestorm," she murmured, her tail hitting the ground in shame. _

_Bramblestorm drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes and sighing. "I thought when you two became apprentices, this behavior would stop," he growled, "but perhaps I was wrong." _

_Spottedpaw glared at Whitepaw. "Your fault," she hissed underneath her breath, not loud enough for Father to hear. _

_Whitepaw's head snapped up. "Shut up!" she growled, her fur spiking up._

_Bramblestorm looked at her, green eyes narrowed. "Exactly the behavior that I was talking about. Neither of you can go two seconds without snapping at each other, can you? I'm ashamed and disappointed in you most of all, Whitepaw…" _

Whitepool opened her eyes, sighing. Spottedflower was murmuring something to Ravenpaw, her tail running up and down her sons spine in an effort to comfort him. At the moment, she wasn't quite sure where her apprentice was, but it wasn't like she cared.

"Whitepool," Inwardly, she growled at Oakfrost's gruff voice. "Are you going to stand around like a lumbering badger, or are you going out on a search party?"

The white she-cat just rolled her eyes, turning toward Oakfrost. "Sure. Who's going?" she asked, her whiskers twitching.

Oakfrost's stumpy tail flicked. "It matters?" he growled, turning around and stalking off, probably to ask others to join. Whitepool just sighed, turning around, and starting to pad toward the nursery, when a yowl that wasn't unfamiliar called.

"Let all cats old enough to listen, gather underneath the Branchpile to hear what I have to say!" Whitepool paused, hearing the words that called for an urgent clan meeting, and turned her head, seeing non other than Foxclaw, standing on the Branchpile and his white-tipped tail flicking back and forth in agitation as cats gathered around.

Whitepool just flattened her ears to her head, padding around the throng of cats, and settling into the middle of the cats, beside Briarcloud and another warrior named Hawkshadow.

The brown tom dipped his head at Whitepool, keeping his silent exterior. She flicked her ear at him, blinking.

"Now, some of you may be wondering why I'm up here," Foxclaw started, gazing down at the population of BrambleClan.

"Not really," Oakfrost muttered from behind Whitepool.

Foxclaw ignored him, and continued to speak, "Mousestar is missing. There is little evidence, only a small splotch of blood in her den and some drag marks leading out behind it. We all know Mousestar is a small cat, so whoever did this might not be a huge cat. They could be a small cat for all we know, so we must be on full surveillance, alright?"

Rainstrike glared up at Foxclaw. "Excuse me, Mr. Deputy, but aren't we supposed to be…you know…looking for Mousestar? Or are we just going to stand around in camp all day, waiting for her to pop back into clan life?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Foxclaw sighed. "MarshClan doesn't need to know about this, everyone. We're not going to tell them; they'll think we're weak," he meowed, causing an uproar to follow after his words.

"Seriously?"

"Who cares!"

"Our leader is _missing_!"

Foxclaw closed his eyes for a heartbeat, trying to keep away the mewls of protest; Whitepool couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy for him. The ginger tom opened his eyes, flicking his tail with annoyance.

"Alright, alright!" He hissed, flattening his ears to his head as his hackles rose. "I get it! You all want to go out and have the other clan know we're weak and could be easily beaten? Go ahead. Have fun making fools of BrambleClan. But when you all settle your little selves down and decide to listen to me, I'll be waiting."

Instantly, the cats stopped chattering, murmuring and whispering. It wasn't until they were done that Foxclaw spoke up again,

"Okay, since we've decided to calm down, I'll tell you all what I plan to do in order to find Mousestar. Obviously, we can't go to MarshClan, demanding her back. We also can't go around screeching her name; that goes straight back to my reason about MarshClan. So, we're going to act normally. Pretend that everything is perfectly fine, and if anyone else asks, Mousestar is sick with green cough. Get it?"

_Do nothing? But…, _Whitepool glanced around her, seeing that she wasn't the only one who was morally confused with Foxclaw's plan.

Oakfrost just growled, "So we're going to let whoever has Mousestar kill her and get away with it because our deputy told us to. Awesome."

And for once, Whitepool found herself agreeing with Oakfrost.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>So, no Bluepaw craziness this chapter. This is sort of a, 'how-is-the-clan-reacting' chapter, but the next chapter will definetely be Bluepaw crazy.


	9. C h a p t e r 8

**Okay, okay, I know, a bad updater. I really wanted to update, but it slipped from my mind - I swear!**

**As promised, there shall be Bluepaw craziness!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

"I can't believe Mousestar is…gone…,"

Whitepool's ears pricked, turning her head to the side to see her sister sitting next to her, staring at her dappled paws. A stab of pity hit her right in the center of the chest for the paranoid mother; Mousestar had been her mentor, and a cat that Spottedflower had always looked up to.

The white she-cat let out a sigh, leaning over and pressing her muzzle to her littermate's cheek, nuzzling it as she spoke: "I know, Spotty." She sighed desolately, blinking.

Spottedflower shrugged her off as she saw Rainstrike padding up to them, the blue-gray tom's eyes narrowed and tail lashing side to side in irritation. The former queen's eyes widened and she got to her paws, running to him and sniffing his muscular frame.

"Why are you mad? Did you find Mousestar? Is she dead?" Spottedflower gasped, recoiling. Her amber eyes narrowed. "Did Ravenpaw get any she-cat's pregnant? Bluepaw still has a lonely life, doesn't she?" she growled, flattening her ears to her head.

Whitepool sighed, hanging her head and shaking it. "Spottedflower...," she began saying, preparing herself mentally to start her miniature speech, before Rainstrike cut her off.

"It's that idiot Foxclaw!" he hissed, his usually kinder tone turning sour as he wrinkled his nose. "He keeps on telling me and the other warriors that we can't go out looking for Mousestar, just because he's terrified of a battle!" he snarled, causing Spottedflower to jolt back.

The frost-colored she-cat frowned, watching as Spottedflower's eyes went wide once more, before she closed her eyes, nuzzling her head underneath her mate's.

"I'm sure he wants to find Mousestar just as much as we do," she told him, opening her eyes and smiling up at him. "We just have to wait until this all cools down, and then we'll be able to look for her."

Whitepool nodded, getting to her own paws and padding over to Rainstrike. "He was named Fox_claw_ for a reason, right? –claw is for cats who are excellent fighters, isn't it? He'll come around; he just doesn't want a pointless battle." She informed her sister's mate, smiling softly.

Spottedflower withdrew her head from underneath his chin, looking at Whitepool once again. "We shouldn't have a battle with MarshClan, especially not after leafbare," she growled, flicking her tail back and forth. "Briarcloud doesn't have enough herbs yet for that."

_I don't want to gossip, especially when the Clan will jump at any reason to search through MarshClan territory, looking for answers to Mousestar's disappearance, _She frowned once again, tail-tip flicking.

"I better find Grayshade," she murmured, causing Spottedflower's ears to prick up in puzzlement. "I need to talk to him about…something." She clarified, ignoring her sister's ear flick.

_I don't want to bring up anything about Bluepaw to her, _she thought as she began padding away. _ But I…I think I need to keep on training her – well, of course I do, but… I hate to admit it, but I kind of…miss her. _

Whitepool sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time, flicking her ear as she saw the blue-gray apprentice bouncing out of the apprentices den, right after Thistlepaw. Her white toes were hardly visible through the mass of dust and dirt swirling around her from the ruckus she was making; only a paler shade of brown lifted up from the ground.

Ravenpaw slouched out of the den after them, the black-and-white apprentice's green eyes dull and exhausted looking.

"Let's hurry up, you two," Whitepool's ears pricked, and she turned her head to see Grayshade standing near the fresh-kill pile, his gray tail flicking back and forth almost agitatedly as he looked at the young apprentices.

Out of the corner of her eye, Whitepool saw Thistlepaw mutter a "Thank StarClan" mutely, changing his course from Bluepaw's almost immediately.

"We need to get to the Training Hollow before it turns to sunset; I don't want to stay out of camp after the sun goes down." The dark furred warrior meowed, a bit more to himself rather than Ravenpaw and Bluepaw.

Ravenpaw nodded. "Okay," he called, weaving around Bluepaw and approaching his mentor.

Whitepool watched as Bluepaw stared at the mentor and apprentice disdainfully, her blue eyes flickering from one cat to the other. Whitepool sucked in a breath as Bluepaw looked at her, eyes widening and brightening both at the same time.

Her apprentice's – or former apprentice – tail flicked back and forth, almost like a dog, in excitement, smiling widely.

_Should I be irritated or happy…? _Whitepool blinked confused yellow eyes as Bluepaw leaped in the air, skittering toward her. The small blue-gray she-cat purred, standing up on the tip of her toes to touch noses with the older cat.

"Oh, yay! I'm _so _happy that you're coming to train me, Whitepool! Grayshade's okay, but I've only been to one session, and I don't know if he understands me, not like you, and I think that we should totally-"

Whitepool cleared her throat to cut her apprentice off mid-sentence, flicking one of her ears as Bluepaw's mouth stopped in the middle of speaking, shutting quickly. It uttered a single _pop! _noise as it closed, and Whitepool gave her a slight nod after a heartbeat or two.

_I don't know what to tell her…she might freak out with any version of this, but… _

"Well…you see, here's the problem, Bluepaw. Mousestar said that I couldn't be your mentor anymore, not after that…incident earlier, and, well…I don't want to disobey her…," she began.

Whitepool silently cursed at herself for how much of a stumbling young warrior she sounded like; she was only talking to a kit who was a about a week or so into her apprenticeship! But, yet again, this _was_ Bluepaw…

She jolted as she saw Bluepaw's eyes narrow, the blue-furred she-cat gritting her teeth together and clenching her jaw. "But Mousestar isn't here, Whitepool. She's dea-_missing_."

The white she-cat flattened her ears to her head, her body tensing at Bluepaw's sudden change in tone. She watched as Bluepaw closed her eyes for a heartbeat, breathing in and out slowly.

"But I can't disobey orders, Bluepaw," Whitepool murmured apologetically.

Suddenly, Bluepaw's eyes widened and she snarled, tearing at the grass with her claws and opening her jaws, hissing at her mentor. Whitepool gasped, eyes flicking down for just a single heartbeat to see the long and deep claw marks underneath Bluepaw's white toes.

"You can't follow the rules forever," Bluepaw hissed, but it didn't sound like her. The voice sounded darker, deeper, and more eerie than any other noise Whitepool had ever heard.

She blinked, stumbling back. "But-"

"Bluepaw, are you coming or not?"

Whitepool turned, meeting the confused but mostly irritated eyes of Grayshade, who stood near the entrance of camp. The older warrior's fern-colored eyes were flicking back and forth between the two she-cats, but he stopped, turning to Bluepaw.

Bluepaw stared at Whitepool for a few more heartbeats, her eyes searching hers. Bluepaw's eyes narrowed, and she took a deep and shaky breath.

"_I'd do anything to be like you." _

Before Whitepool could respond, Bluepaw turned, bounding toward Grayshade and Ravenpaw. Grayshade watched her go first, blinking a few times in puzzlement, before shaking his head, beckoning for Ravenpaw to bound out as well.

As she watched the three go, Whitepool couldn't stop the shiver of fear from creeping up her spine.

* * *

><p><em>When she opened her eyes, she recognized the place almost immediately. The dead plants and gloomy atmosphere almost immediately brought back memories from nights before. Of Birdfrost, the strange she-cat who claimed to be a medicine cat, and who told her that…strange story that was supposed to be like a lesson or something like that. <em>

"_Birdfrost?" She called into the darkness, yellow eyes scathing the trees for any signs of the pretty tabby cat with that unmistakable nasty scar on her neck. _

_She peered into the dead forest even further than before; she narrowed her eyes, tail–tip flicking in slight agitation. _

"_Oh, oh Whitepool!" A voice, familiar to her, echoed from the trees, causing Whitepool to jump back in surprise. "You're the best mentor I could've ever had! I want to be just like you…"_

_Whitepool shivered in fear._

_She never thought she'd be terrified to hear the voice of her own apprentice – of her niece._


	10. C h a p t e r 9

**Authors Note: **I'd like to take a moment to thank my seven reviewers. Seriously. After abandoning this story for about four months, I update a suckish chapter, and get seven reviews from seven wonderful people. You all who have reviewed, favorited, story alerted, and even taken the time to view this story have inspired me to keep going and write about the calm Whitepool, the creepy Bluepaw, the jealous Ravenpaw, the grumpy Oakfrost, and the missing Mousestar.

This chapter is short, but I just wanted to get it out so I can get to the next one! We're almost to 100 reviews guys! Thank you to everyone!

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

Dawn's beautiful, pure light greeted her eyes as she slowly opened them, eye gunk creasing in the side of one of her eyes. She blinked, picking up a white paw and bringing to her eye, rubbing it slowly. She took away her paw, lifting up her head and stretching out her jaws in a yawn, her tail-tip flicking in content.

_I don't have an apprentice for the moment, _she thought, staring down at her paws with a slightly downcast expression on her face. She blinked, a prickle of unhappiness flowing through her body as she thought of the blue-gray apprentice. Then her ears pricked, a small smile of hope gracing across her features. _But that means that I have a lot more free time for myself; I can go on a lot more patrols, and I can spend some time with Mother. _

Whitepool blinked at the moss that curled over her paws, inhaling deeply and getting to her feet. The white-furred cat lifted up her head once again, another yawn rippling through her chest. She allowed herself to shake away the moss, pieces of it scattering in the warriors den.

"Do you mind?" Her ears pricked as she heard a gruff meow, and she looked over, ears flattened, at the irritated face of Oakfrost.

The thick-furred tom hissed at her, still lying down with his chin rested on a big paw. His one yellow eye was opened, narrowed. He flared his nostrils, lifting up his head and turning his neck to nose some of the moss pieces from his fur.

Oakfrost growled, turning back to her. "Why can't you keep your moss in your nest?" he asked, annoyance prickling from his pelt.

Before she could open her mouth to respond, he lowered his head back down, resting his chin on his great paws, closing his eye once again. She flicked her ear as she looked down at him, twitching her whiskers in contempt.

_He's such a downer, _Whitepool let out a disdainful sigh, shaking her head and beginning to prick her way around the warriors den, careful not to step on any of the sleeping cats. _He needs an apprentice to calm him down a bit – I know that once Foxclaw got Dawnwing as his apprentice, all those moons ago, he cooled down a little bit._

Once the sunlight hit her muscular shoulders, Whitepool yawned, allowing her back to drop down and her legs and tail to stretch out, working out the kinks in her joints. The white she-cat flicked her tail-tip, regaining her composure, and glanced around the BrambleClan camp, yellow eyes scanning the clearing for Bluepaw.

Even though the apprentice a pain, Whitepool still needed to train her – how could Bluepaw reach her fullest potential to become a warrior if the cat who assigned to mentor her couldn't do so a few days into the apprenticeship?

_Perhaps she's still asleep, _she thought, frowning. _I mean, I see Ravenpaw and Thistlepaw… _Whitepool blinked puzzled eyes as she saw the blue-gray, furry apprentice sharing a vole with Ravenpaw. She cocked her head to the side in confusion – wouldn't Bluepaw be out with the other two cats? It wasn't in Bluepaw's nature to be alone in a den; the small kit would always scamper out whenever her mother and brother were not in the nursery.

Whitepool flicked an ear, padding up to the fresh-kill pile, looking at the two apprentices carefully. "Ravenpaw," she meowed as soon as she reached them.

The black-and-white apprentice looked up, blinking startled green eyes. He glanced at Thistlepaw, who merely shrugged. Ravenpaw looked up at his kin, twitching a bi-colored ear. "Yes, Whitepool?" he asked.

"Where's Bluepaw? I don't see her." She asked, craning her neck to survey the BrambleClan camp once more, checking to see if she had come out from the apprentices den in the time that Whitepool had been talking to Ravenpaw.

"Oh," He frowned; memories of the conversation that Whitepool had had with him when they went to the gathering days prior came back. "Well, she wasn't in the den when I woke up, but I think I heard her getting up in the middle of the night; I fell asleep a bit late." He informed the young warrior with a polite dip of his head.

Thistlepaw turned to face Whitepool as well, his green eyes puzzled. "I heard her too. She was mumbling something…I couldn't hear her very clear, but it didn't sound…right." He suppressed a shiver, and Whitepool frowned.

_Bluepaw really isn't acting okay…_ She nodded, flicking her tail over the blue-gray cat's ears. "Thank you. Just…let me know if either of you see her, okay? I really want to make sure that she's okay." Without another word, Whitepool turned from the toms, padding toward the entrance of camp fretfully.

_The conversation that we had yesterday spooks me, to say the least. I mean, why was Bluepaw being so hostile toward me? I haven't done anything to her but be a kind mentor – or, well, at least I attempted to. Bluepaw was so sweet as a kit; she just wanted to be a warrior. _Whitepool twitched her whiskers in amusement, slipping through the tunnel that lead out into the forest.

_I remember when her and Ravenpaw began to talk about what their warrior names were going to be; Spottedflower and I had to give them the warrior halves of their names that'd best suit them. Ravenpaw would definitely be a Ravenwing or Ravenstreak; he's a fast one. But Bluepaw…I never really thought anything suited her. _

She shook her head, clearing the blurred and bright memories of playing with her sisters kits, laughing and watching as Spottedflower did her best to become a good mother. _That's in the past now. Now, I'm stuck with Bluepaw and I'm not sure what to do with her. At first, I thought that she was just so bubbly and happy, but now…I can see something else, something different. _

Whitepool leaped over a tree root, her tail-tip twitching as she slid through a clump of bracken, the leaves pressing against her back as she slithered out.

Raising her muzzle, she sniffed the air, attempting to find any warm scent of prey in the thick forest. She could taste a squirrel in the distance; it must've been about four foxlengths away.

As she began to stalk her way up to the piece of prey, Whitepool could've sworn she heard a small shriek.

Startled, she immediately pricked her ears, looking around to find the source.

But as soon as it came, any trace that she had ever heard it was replaced by the sound of the howling wind.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>So Bluepaw's missing too? *le gasp* Where could she be?

Anyway. The next chapter is going to be super exciting and also a bit more creepy than the others, AND, it's not in Whitepool's POV either :3

Thank you all again!


	11. C h a p t e r 10

**Chapter Ten**

_Whitepool would be so proud._

She padded into the night; she felt the blackish light, eerie and dark, full of doom and no prosperity, glow on her shorter fur. Well, perhaps not glow, but it did not shine either; shining was meant for light that was bright, light that made your fur tips tingle with warmth…

Now she was sounding like Dovefrost; always scathing every inch of the forest for details.

_She's the best warrior in the entire forest – Mother says that she even fought off two full grown MarshClan warriors at the mere age of eleven moons! _

The warm, newleaf breeze whispered gently through the forest, brushing across her shoulders and ruffling the thick, green leaves. She glanced over at them, watching as the dark light dappled over it through the thick tree canopy, making it look like the pelt of a gray cat with darker spots.

She closed her eyes for a brief second, allowing her ears to take in almost every detail they could possibly find about the forest. The way the long grass stalks waved as the breeze from before carried over to it, the way the tree branches trembled from the leaves, the way the bracken and bramble bushes – the undergrowth, basically – tickled the ground with their long fronds…this was all processed in her mind.

_Whitepool is an amazing cat – she's a good fighter, good hunter, good tracker, good leader, a good everything! Ravenpaw said he dreams of becoming a warrior, that he'll be the best. But never as good as Whitepool – that's for sure!_

She opened her eyes once again, revealing a withdrawn icy fire. Her lip curled up, revealing rows of sharp, white teeth, faintly glowing with pale ribbons of light as the moon crept upon them. A small chuckle grew in her chest, rising into her throat, and sounding out through a closed, but grinning mouth.

She flattened her ears as she saw a small, palely colored cat, creeping through the undergrowth. She raised her muzzle, inhaling the sharp scent of it – if it was an intruder, oh, Whitepool would be even prouder of her for chasing it off!

_Oh, it's just Mousestar. But what is the BrambleClan leader doing out in the territory this late at night, hmm? This is certainly not like her – from my experience, I've noticed that she relishes in staying in the camp, under the guard of Foxclaw and the other warriors. _

She allowed herself to grip the forest floor, claws grabbing the thick dirt and bringing up above the level of its norm. She felt it crumble beneath her soft paw pads, a small root ripping beneath the force of the motion.

_If my memory serves me well, than I believe I remember a certain BrambleClan leader separating me from Whitepool – the best cat in the entire forest! Now, why would she do that? That's certainly not the move of a good leader, is it?_

_It's the move of a cat that's standing in my way!_

She did not allow herself to growl, snarl, spit, or even hiss in displeasure. If she even made one hostile sound, then her whole plan would swirl down in failure.

And this plan just _had _to work.

It had to.

_Now, come on Mousestar, surely you know that hunting late at night by yourself is strictly unadvised? Dear Foxclaw would not enjoy you doing so, would he? Why, I reckon that he'd be very upset with you. Very so. The poor tom gets so caught up with the fact that MarshClan may look for any reason to hunt us down and possibly find a weakness. _

_And a leader who may go missing could be a big one, now couldn't it?_

_But you didn't think that through very well, did you?_

Her tongue snaked out of her mouth, rasping itself across her whiskers as she saw a tail flick up from the ferns, the owner of it in the well-known position of the hunters crouch. She felt a small stab of anger course through her veins as she saw the leader poke her head up from the ferns, glancing around as if she had heard something.

Mousestar jolted as her yellow eyes landed on her, the small, light brown leader breathing heavily as she processed who was standing only four fox lengths from her.

"Oh, it's just you," she whispered, breathless. The leader shook her head, eyes shut. "I thought it was some rouge for a moment – you smell a bit different, don't you?" she asked, head tilting to the side in confusion.

She nodded, mutely, unable to speak in fear of it coming out as a growl or a hiss – she had a hard time controlling how angry, happy, or depressed her meows sounded from time to time.

Mousestar titled her head to the other side, her ear flicking as she stared at her, uncertainty glowing in her yellow eyes. She blinked, not saying anything at first; the silence that hung in the dark forest was almost too overwhelming.

"Well…I'm going to continue to hunt now, okay?" The leader told her slowly, gently. She could feel the awkwardness coming off of Mousestar's pelt, vibrating with uneasiness as the small she-cat glanced at her.

"Yes, Mousestar," she murmured.

And that's when two cats, one the same size as her and the other larger, more full grown, launched out of the bracken bush, causing her to leap back in surprise – right into the clutches of an overgrown bracken bush.

The fronds – slightly thorny – wrapped itself around her paws, causing her to grasp, attempting to wiggle out of its sharp and painful grasp. She let out a grunt of displeasure, trying to kick at the entanglement and free her paws.

"W-what are you two doing? I am your leader – you cannot do this to me!"

She peeked over her own toes, trying to see exactly what was going on.

All she saw was a familiar patched shape holding Mousestar's neck down, while the other one threw a blow to the side of the leader's head.

"You and I are going to have a little chat about who should be the leader of this Clan, dearie."

_It can't be…no…they can't do this! Not to Mousestar!_

The largest of the pair grabbed Mousestar's scruff in his mouth, hoisting her up. He then began to drag her away, the other cat following him with a pleased glimmer in his dark green eyes.

She had just watched as her leader was taken.

_Whitepool wouldn't be proud of me now._

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong> This was probably a bit confusing.

But I really don't know whether or not you were expecting THAT...


	12. AUTHORS NOTE

**Hey guys.**

**Woah, long time no see, right? Okay, I am so, so sorry. Like, it wasn't even life issues that kept me back; I forgot my password and then just became super lazy and was putting off updating this. But I remembered one day that 'Oh yeah, I had a fanficiton!' and then I see that in elven chapters (e-freaking-leven) I had over 110 reviews. That's _phenomenal _and I never expected to get that many.**

**But I wanted to firstly tell you all that I am so, _so _sorry about abandoning you guys and this story, because I really loved this story and it's characters. I wanted to let you all know that I, as a writer, wanted to propose something to everyone:**

**A revision of this story.**

**Yeah, I know, that's really weird. But I'm honestly going to, because I was seriously making this story up as I went – no lie, I had no idea what I was doing. So, I what I want to do is revise this story; add on to the plot, the characters, the back stories, etc., and then come back with a longer, more developed story.**

**I hope that you all would love to join me on this, and I can't wait to get re-started!**

**{{So this doesn't get reported:}}**

"_Bluepaw!" _The blue-gray apprentice turned her head instantly, leaping to her paws and darting her eyes around suspiciously.

"What? Is there an attack going on?" she asked, unsheathing her claws as she prepared for war.

"No," Bluepaw forced her fur to lie flat when she saw her tortoiseshell-and-white mother, Spottedflower, padding around the apprentices den, her amber eyes flashing madly. "you're just sitting alone again!"

Bluepaw let out a sigh of frustration. _Oh, of course. _She thought, rolling her eyes.

Spottedflower paused in front of her, tapping her paw against the dirt. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're going to live a lonely life if you don't start making friends?" her mother asked, all too serious.

Bluepaw saw Grayshade and Foxclaw, a senior warrior and the deputy of BrambleClan, giving the two odd looks. _She is so embarrassing, _she thought with a frown, shaking her head at her mother.

"I won't live a lonely life!" she protested. "How many times are you going to say that?"

Spottedflower raised her muzzle. "I'll stop once I see grandkits," she meowed.

"_Mom._"


End file.
